A suspected member of a criminal organization that controlled the Washington region’s largest Filipino meth market has been charged in the conspiracy, court documents said. Raymond Avila Ching, 32, worked for Pablo Abulencia, who was sent to prison in 2008 after being found guilty of running a longtime meth ring throughout the Northern Virginia area and Montgomery County, according to charging documents.
Ching was charged in federal court in Alexandria last week with conspiracy to distribute 500 grams of methamphetamine. The court papers offer an inside peek at the underworld workings in the D.C. area.
Abulencia was recognized among local drug dealers as one of the patriarchs who introduced meth to national capital area, the documents said. He established his own network of methamphetamine dealers and, for a time, controlled an overwhelming portion of the Filipino methamphetamine market.
In addition to the distribution of large quantities of extremely pure crystal methamphetamine, the Abulencia organization also sold stolen guns, vehicles, and fraudulent or stolen financial instruments, prosecutors said.
Ching worked for Abulencia, prosecutors said. Ching used grenades to threaten people who owed money to the organization, and carried an assault rifle to protect himself, court documents said.
Ching purchased the crystal meth from California and Michigan and resold it from area hotels, authorities said. The drugs were sent to him by mail, sometimes secreted inside VHS tapes to avoid detection, documents said.
Ching also helped financed his drug operation by making fake checks and fraudulent identification, which he made inside an Alexandria residence.
Ching was originally one of 17 conspirators arrested by federal authorities in 2007. An undercover officer bought drugs and firearms, including a .50-caliber sniper rifle, from several members of the group on multiple occasions, according to the charging documents.
Ching’s lawyers had scheduled a plea hearing last year, but decided against it after he learned that he could be deported if he admitted his guilt, charging documents said.
